Liard Hotsprings
I woke up rather early the following day. It is kind of hard to wake up late when the sun never sets. Every day I was up at either 7 or 8 in the morning. This time around in my car was a little bit bothersome. My knee began to hurt and I wasn’t able to relieve the pain because what it needed was to be stretched out.
Anyways, I woke up around 7:30 and got myself ready for the hot springs. I cleaned up, moved all my belongings to the back of my car and tried to look half decent. I pulled in to the hot springs camp, about five minutes before they open at 8:00am. Since I was there early, the person charging was kind enough to just let me go in for free. So, a good start to the day. As I drove up around the parking/camp site I realized I wasn’t the only one up early. People were up and busy making breakfast and getting ready for their own day on the road.
I unfortunately did not have proper bathing suit clothing since I never bought any for Alaska. My California bathing suits were in their proper place, my mom’s house. I just went ahead and put on some shorts I had and a t-shirt. When you arrive closer to the springs you get this smell of sulfur or iron. It is not too intense, but weird enough since I don’t smell it on a daily basis. I hanged my towel and headed down the stairs into the springs.
The cool thing about the Liard Hot Springs is that they didn’t make it into a pool. They left the nature setting and just build stairs and a deck around it. The water is crystal clear and the bottom is made up of rocks. Therefore, I entered with my sandals and right away I could feel the hotness through my flesh. Slowly I made my way into the center of my section. The interesting thing about the section of the hot springs I was in, is that on one side it would be one temperature and if one just moves to the other side the temperature would be hotter.
All in all it was a good half hour. I relaxed a bit, scrubbed a bit, and played a bit. I got out, dried up, had breakfast, and was back on the road. Unfortunately, my camera was dead from the previous day and I was unable to take any pictures of the hot springs, but have added a couple here from the internet. You can google it yourself as well. The place is Liard Hot Springs in British Columbia, Canada. The place looks awesome in the winter :D.
Wildlife
There is something extraordinary about wildlife in its environment. I have been to the zoos a few times and although looking at the animals there can be thrilling, there is nothing like catching a glimpse of them in their natural habitat. I came across a good amount of wildlife while on the road, but most of it I found it on the British Columbia part of the Alaska Highway. As mentioned before I stalked a black cub bear for awhile. I also saw another one later on. It is interesting that the cubs are just running around in plain sight, while the mother is nowhere to be seen. She is very good at hiding. As I drove away from the hot springs I came across a herd of bison (I believe that is what they were). I of course slowed down and stopped my car on the shoulder and began taking pictures. It was just so fascinating to see them in their own home without restrictions. There were calfs feeding on mothers, a couple of male bison were budding heads playfully, and then the herd began to move across the highway. Immediately my heart jumps a beat, afraid that some car is going to hit them. Yet, they walk across without a care in the world. They begin their slow walk across. As they do, cars and trailers come across them, but slow their pace in order to allow them to walk across. It is obvious who owns the road.
Camping
The rest of my day was spent trying to get set up with the camping materials needed to make camp. I stopped at the second town that was big enough that had a couple of megastores. I went in and found a tent, sleeping bag, cushion, a couple of plates, utensils, and a can opener. I was set, at least I thought I was. So, I got back on the road and was in the search of finding a campsite that was as beautiful as Dawson Creek. I drove a few more miles south of the town and found a campsite on the shore of a river, perfection! I pulled in, got a little corner campsite, and settled in. It took me about an hour to get my tent up and everything ready. Although I can proudly say that by the time I made my last camp it only took me like 20 minutes.
At this campsite I met a nice couple that were in the National Guard and were being transferred to Kodiak, Alaska. Finally, I was able to spend some time with other human beings. I couldn’t believe how much I missed just conversing with others. They offered me a hamburger dinner, which I gladly did not refuse. It was delicious as well as their home-made beef jerky. That was delicious! I went to bed late and it was cold that night, so I woke up a couple of times, but it was just a matter of getting used to it. As I bundled myself up I shut my eyes and let my fourth day on the road be swept away with the current of the river.
My tent all set up :D
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